My baby is almost 16 months old and still isn't walking on her own yet....should I be worried??

Question

She cruises around the furniture all day and takes steps on her own SOMETIMES, but it seems that she would rather crawl to get where she needs to go. I am beginning to worry.

Answer 1

G'day DarkAngelCountryGirl,

Thank you for your question.

I would speak to your doctor if it concerns you. However, babies tend to do things at their own pace and 16 months is probably a reasonable time as 9 to 16 months is the normal timeframe. Speak with your doctor to check that there isn't something wrong but she is probably OK. If she isn't walking by 18 months, see a doctor.

Your girl may be a relaxed baby who are less inclined to start walking given that crawling is faster. It doesn't normally have anything to do with intelligence or motor skills.

I have attached sources for your reference.

Regards

Answer 2

Dont worry I think your baby is fine, my son didnt start walking until he was sixteen months old. He did the same thing holding on to furniture, almost as if he was scared. Then one day he just let go and started walking. He still reverted back to crawling once in a while. My son is now 3 and walks like a champ. My older brother my mom said did nto walk until he was eighteen months, they will walk when they are ready. He is making alot of little strides I wouldn't worry.

Answer 3

IF she can physically walk, on her own or even with "support" IE she wants you to hold her hand but doesn't really use it for balance/weight then she is most likely fine. It could be more of a mental thing.

My cousin could walk but as soon as he realized that you weren't holding his hand he would panic and sit down. He was just afraid. There was nothing wrong with him, not his balance or strength. He just found walking scarey for some reason. He outgrew it and is a perfectly normal adult (now don't tell him I said that)

I believe they generally do some testing if babies are not walking by 18 months. But honestly I wouldn't worry that she prefers crawling, it is just a preference not an inability.

Answer 4

My brother had a set of twin baby girls (fraternal) and one was walking at 9 months the other, not until 15 months. The one that walked at 9 months also was talking early too. The other, started talking much later. Now one would think one of them wasn't right, I I assure they both turned out to be very bright young ladies, now in their first year of college. Both have made the deans list in high school repeatedly. The one who started later, did so at her own pace, but once she started walking she did it without the falling the other had done, and once she started talking she spoke clearly and without fudging any of her words. Odd, but true. Babies have their own time schedules and adoctor can give you a range of when certain activites take place or should, but then, thats all it really is, a gauge. So unless your baby is exhibiting other signs of some developmental problems, I wouldn't get to worked up, just encourage the baby to keep trying till she is ready! Good luck!

Answer 5

Dont worry! My daughter didnt start walking until around that time either. She would grab on to stuff too. Just give her time. Try helping her by holding her hands and walking with her. Give her some incentive for walking. Everything will fall in to place and she will be walking before you know it.

Answer 6

my niece did the same thing! when she was younger she would crawl around most of the time and occasionally take steps on her own. but she eventually stopped crawling and just walked everywhere. so u probably shouldn't worry :)

Answer 7

I wouldn't be worried. My niece is 15 months and she literally just took her first steps aided by furniture. If you're still concerned, a call to the pediatrician might ease your worries. He or She would be able to tell you if you should have her seen.

Answer 8

If she is standing and taking steps on her own sometimes she will be just fine. My middle daughter didn't walk until she was almost 18 mos old.

Answer 9

dMy Grandson is 16 months and still not walking. he has rather crawl but the Dr says he will in his time, if she has no medical problems . i would just enjoy the crawling' they are so cute. he talks like a 2 yr old but has always been late doing phyiscal things. he walks like yours, and climbs like a monkey and throws terrible temper tantrums. normal, i guess

Answer 10

i would be a little worried too, but just try to keep in mind that all babies develop at a different pace. have you tried holding her hand and encouraging her to walk. before my daughter could walk, i would hold both of her hands and kind of lean her forward so that she would take a step and when she did i would make a HUGE deal out of it so that she wanted to do it again. another thing i did was my hubby and i would sit with our legs out facing each other. my daughter would start out holding on to one of us and we would encourage her to walk to the other person (a very short distance) when she did we made a huge deal out of it. make sure that when your daughter takes ANY steps make a really big deal out of it, be really excited towards her and she will want to do it again.